Special Protection and a Slippery Temptation

"...What the heck is this?"

Special protection target?Intensive escort week?

Of course, up until now, I'd been getting protection from the seniors whether I knew it or not.

From the artifacts wrapped all over my body to the reliable backup that always showed up whenever I screwed up.

But this was the first time the Magical Girl Castle was being so blatant about putting me under guard from another dimension.

It must be because of what happened last time...

Lately, as my fanbase grew in the community, so did the antis, bit by bit.

A good chunk of them were claiming that the root cause of the Rexon Games siege was me being there.

The problem? It didn't sound all that wrong.

Honestly, it was spot on, right? If I hadn't been there, the monsters had no reason to go all the way out there.

I didn't care anymore why they were targeting me. Or rather, it just didn't matter to me.

What good reason would monsters have for coming after me? It had to be something seriously rotten.

"...Kinda sucks."

That's when Seol Yuna, who was looking at the screen with me, muttered.

Her eyes were glued to the recommendation at the end of the official notice.

"...These Magical Girl Castle folks are totally doing whatever they want, aren't they? This is invading my privacy."

It was just a recommendation, not mandatory. But it sure felt like "answer is predetermined."

Since Yuna knew my situation, she might've felt like the Castle was trying to selfishly steal me away.

Of course, I wasn't thrilled either.

Like having my freedom stripped away. Or feeling like a pet dog on a leash.

It's all because I'm still too weak.

If I were strong enough to solo an A-rank, they wouldn't bother with this escort nonsense.

More than that, one magical girl getting escorted by others? I'd never heard of such a thing.

Right then, a small line at the bottom of the notice caught my eye.

'Escort personnel will prioritize my preferences?'

Does that mean... I can request any magical girl I want?

Thinking positively, doesn't that mean I can freely work on my Dress Code compendium from now on?

'The Dress Codes I've collected so far: Bella, Frost, Pluto, Aurora, Shining, Sword, Flora, Ignis, Aqua.'

Nine in total. But there are still well over a hundred registered magical girls in Korea.

What if I could make all their mana mine?

"What're you gonna do?" "Huh?" "We can probably refuse this. If you say no, they can't force it on you."

Yuna asked with worried eyes.

I agreed. Sure, it said we couldn't refuse, but why should the Castle decide that on their own?

If I said no, they'd have to back off.

But.

'It's also a chance to get stronger.'

A golden opportunity to acquire mana from all sorts of magical girls I haven't met yet.

The cost? My privacy.

The old me would've frothed at the mouth in protest.

I never want to go through what happened with Gold Luli again.

That kid's eyes as she fell into the darkness. The helplessness. The guilt and despair.

To erase all that, I could give up my privacy in a heartbeat.

"It's fine. It means they're looking out for me, so I'll accept."

"...Are you insane? 24/7 surveillance. What about privacy? Freedom? You're just gonna give it all up?"

"No choice."

I deliberately flashed the brightest smile I could muster.

"I'm a magical girl, after all?"

Yuna stared at me intently.

"...No, you're not."

Then she mumbled something... but her voice was too quiet to catch.

"Huh? What'd you say?" "Nothing..."

Yuna hung her head. Her long bangs hid her face.

A moment later, when she looked up, she had her usual blank expression back.

"Sigh. Sorry. You can get home alone, right?" "Huh? Suddenly?" "Yeah. Gotta head home for a bit." "Something up?" "Forgot to feed the fish. It's gonna freak out from hunger." "You have fish?" "Yeah. Started keeping 'em after coming back from Busan last time."

I hadn't been back home in a while, so I didn't know. Since when did she have a hobby raising critters?

Anyway, it's not a piranha or anything—freaking out over one missed meal?

But her tone was so firm I couldn't press her.

She started to stand, then paused and turned back to me.

"Oppa."

I blinked. Oh, right. That's what she calls me. I'd forgotten since she'd been calling me Ha-rin so much lately.

"Yeah? What's up?" "Being a magical girl... fun?"

Out-of-left-field question. Fun?

Risking my life fighting monsters, nearly getting crushed under building rubble, witnessing deaths, and now facing 24/7 surveillance—how could it be fun?

But.

"Maybe...?"

The moments when crowds cheered. The pride of protecting someone.

And those intense sensations of being alive that normal daily life could never give.

I couldn't deny those.

"Yeah. Good enough."

With that, Yuna vanished into the crowd without looking back.

Her retreating figure looked strangely lonely, not like her at all.

"Tch."

I could head home alone, but it felt kinda lame now.

After parting with Yuna, I sat alone on the bench and opened the Magical Girl Castle app. Might as well go all in since I decided to do it. Time to meet all the magical girls I'd turned down before.

First target, obviously...

'Prima.'

Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of copying her mana. Just curious. The origin of all magical girls. The one who turned me into this.

Ever since the beginning, I'd wanted to meet her at least once.

'But... what if I added Prima's mana on top? Would I get even stronger?'

Who knows. My mana was already based on Prima's anyway.

Whatever. I wanted to meet her, so I requested Prima from the Castle.

But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the reply came in one second.

"Ack."

Damn, if it wasn't gonna work, say so from the start. Don't torture me with false hope.

'Then... who to call?'

I recalled the candidates I'd thought of earlier. The ability I needed most right now...

'Terra.'

The earth-attribute magical girl. A friendly old-timer senior who popped up often in the group chat and chatted with me plenty.

'If I'd had her power...'

The power to raise the ground or manipulate rocks freely.

With that, I could've held up the collapsing floor or raised it to catch Gold Luli.

I wouldn't have let go of her hand.

'Alright. Decided.'

I immediately requested Terra as my escort.

About two minutes later, Terra was assigned as my first escort.

＊＊＊

The moment Yuna got home and closed the front door, she leaned against it and slid down to the floor.

"...Haa."

A deep sigh escaped from the depths of her lungs.

Magical girls had monopolized her oppa, Seol Ha-yoon's attention for a long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time.

Oppa’s world always revolved around magical girls, leaving her, his little sister, as a mere satellite orbiting the edges.

But that was okay. If oppa liked them, so did she. She could compromise and laugh it off like that. As long as oppa was happy, that was enough.

But a few months ago, magical girls swallowed oppa whole. And tossed a cute little sister named Ha-rin in her place.

Of course, Ha-rin was adorable. Lovable, someone she wanted to dote on, and above all, her core was still the oppa she loved most in the world, Seol Ha-yoon.

Playing big sis to Seol Ha-rin had been pretty fun.

Unlike before, he didn't push her away or act burdened. They shared little everyday moments only girls could, like shopping or baths.

But what Ha-rin said back at the department store crossed a line.

'I'm a magical girl, after all?'

That smile on Ha-rin's face—it was genuine.

'No, you're not.'

Oppa wasn't a magical girl. Just a sturdy, reliable Korean guy who admired and loved them. That was her oppa.

Before she knew it, the color of Seol Ha-yoon was fading, and Seol Ha-rin was filling the void.

And now, even Seol Ha-rin seemed to be getting devoured by the magical girl Neff.

"Oppa..." What if, someday, oppa really disappeared?

What if magical girls stole his soul too? Yuna was terrified.

"Haa."

She went to her room and, out of habit, approached the small fish tank on her desk.

She tore open the fish food bag and dumped it carelessly into the tank.

The moment the brown pellets hit the surface, a deep voice echoed from inside.

It would've freaked out a normal person, but Yuna had freaked out at first too. By now, it was familiar to her.

"Here you go again. I said I don't need it."

It wasn't a fish in the little tank. A pinky-finger-sized chunk of red tentacle.

A fragment of Kraken she'd picked up in Busan last time.

Yuna had just thought it was some weird deep-sea fish and kept it in the tank.

Yuna flicked the tank glass with her finger.

The dignified tentacle flinched in shock and shriveled behind the plants in the corner.

"Talking big about power like that."

There were talking parrots in the world—why not a talking fish?

She figured it was some rare high-IQ species like a beluga or dolphin that could communicate with humans.

That was Yuna's attitude toward anything outside her oppa's world.

She stared blankly at the tentacle picking at the food, then flopped onto her bed.

'Refrain from civilian contact.'

She knew exactly what that meant.

Fancy words for "recommendation," but it was really just filling Ha-rin's world with nothing but magical girls.

'Annoying.'

It felt like Ha-rin was being stolen into a world she couldn't enter.

'If I were a magical girl too... I could stay by her side forever.'

From that pointless musing, a mutter slipped out.

"Kkkomul."

That was the Kraken fragment's name. It just stuck.

Of course, at first it tried introducing itself as Kraken, but it shut up quick—otherwise, it'd be flushed or sliced by a magical girl after a report.

"You said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if I contract with you, you'll grant my wish."

She tossed it out as a joke. When you're upset and down, you talk to walls or vent to passing dogs, right? Just like that.

But.

"Just curious, but... could I become a magical girl?"

"...Huh?"

Yuna bolted upright in bed.

"What'd you say?"

She stared wide-eyed at the tentacle.

In truth, the tentacle had a very evil, irreverent plan.

'Kukuku. Foolish human. The moment we contract, I'll devour your body, seize control, and bring terror back to this world!'

But the tentacle overlooked one crucial fact.

Monsters are born and shaped from humanity's dark imaginations in the shadow world.

That malevolent energy is the source of a monster's power.

But this little tentacle, severed from Kraken's main body, had never once been to the shadow world since its "birth."

Heck, it was trapped in a real-world fish tank, surviving on goldfish flakes instead of imagination.

In that environment, it had unknowingly lost almost all its monster identity.

Now, it was less a monster and more a familiar guarding a magical girl's side.

It just didn't know that itself.

The tentacle wagged its tip seductively.